February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Sean Faherty Final
Sunday at 4 p.m.
At Gaelic Park
The final of the New York Ladies Championship has all the signs of a great game as old rivals Cavan and Na Fianna battle it out for the Sean Faherty Cup. Holders Cavan will be intent on holding onto their title to make it four in a row and have many talented players on their side: Rosie O’Reilly, Ger Mahon, Karen Shalvey, Maggie Burns, Justine Clifford and Caroline O’Sullivan to name but a few. They are a well-balanced team and always play hard right to the final whistle. Cavan had only one defeat this year against Leitrim finishing second on the table. They had a comfortable win in the semifinal against Mayo.
Na Fianna will be anxious to curtail Cavan’s streak and raise the Sean Faherty Cup again, which they won in 1995. They have been fairly consistent throughout each championship making it to the semifinal each year since, however, this year under the management of Ann Lyons and Peter Brennan they managed one of the biggest upsets of the season by defeating Leitrim in the semifinal. Players to watch out for are Alison Lineen, Mary McEvoy, Caroline Conway, Ann Ryan, Mags Ryan, Marie Curran, Monica Slevin with Ann Murray having a great season in nets.
Shield Final
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Sunday, 11:30 a.m.
At Paddy’s Field
An exciting Shield final in store here as Ciarrai defend their title against Rockland. Rockland have had a very impressive season with young stars in KerryAnn Galvin, Mags Dinneen, Cathy Quinn and Colleen McElroy. The experience of Johanna Hoenninger and Claire Charlton will be essential on the day to get this young squad to avoid the mistakes they made to Ciarrai in last year’s final.
Ciarrai showing great improvement this year suffered a blow when they loss their full back Marlese Fath due to injury. However, they have gained some fine new players in Louise McMahon and Sarah McCarthy. Varina Carey is also back in the squad and with veterans Mary Touhey, Mary Kearney and Anne Hanrahan Ciarrai have a strong squad. There best shooters up front have been Siobhan Neville, Jeannie Rhynne and Orla Doyle.